What a difference five years makes

May 2004



June 2009



One of my oldest friends, Aja and I, showing that even we women get better with age. I was going through a phase back in the photo from 2004 where I didn't smile with my mouth open because I thought it made my face look fatter. Haha. . . I should have just realized it was my fat making me look fatter.

Inevitable

The packing/moving is pretty damn stagnant as we wait on all that paperwork and three day waiting period "required by law". We have a majority of our household in boxes, scattered (or rather, tightly packed into corners) as we attempt to survive in these albeit even smaller quarters now. I don't even want to mention the newest day that we are "supposed" to have the keys, because any time I say it out loud, its as if I jinx the damn thing and it gets bumped back. Again.

All I know is that we have to be out of our apartment on June 30th. It has to be spick and span clean when we leave. And I just completed day 1 of an eight day work stretch. I am already exhausted. My only saving grace is the fact that I by sheer, dumb luck have next weekend off. The salon is closed for the 4th of July and I have the 5th off anyway. 

In all truth, the entire house has come together in the finding, bidding and purchasing in a relatively short period of time. Its been less than a month since it even came into the picture, so while I bitch about how long this is taking and how slow things are moving, I know that I am fortunate. It is looking like we will not have to move into my parent's garage for even one night.

(knock on wood)

Death, divorce and moving house are said to be the three most stressful situations in life. I don't know how much more my fingernails can take!

Where to even begin

  The upcoming weekend is a big one because not only is it Father's day, but also, it is my mother's birthday. And while last year, my dad and I successfully pulled off a wonderful surprise party for my mother (complete with out of town guests), this year feels like it should be even bigger for us. Because this house we're moving into - my parents are buying for us. 

    It was kindly brought to my attention that I may be making it seem like Mike and I are purchasing the house ourselves and God, I wish we were in the financial situation where we could be buying a house right now. But the economy is shit (didn't know you???) and we are no closer to buying a house than I was ten years ago. Haha. Sad but true. However, my parents are the kind of people who have the foresight to see what kind of an investment another rental house would be for them (they own several all ready) and having their daughter  living there will increase the value in the long run too. Because I am itching for a house of my own and by the time we leave,  it will be even in better condition than when we move in. Light fixture improvements, color . . . etc. 

    So I have no idea what to do for either of them on their respective holidays, but I do (finally) have a couple of days coming up beforehand and will find something then (hopefully).

    Mom and I have been looking for some great upholstery fabric to recover the dining room table chairs with. The table is in great condition, as are the seats, but the current fabric has to go. It's pretty, but so not my style. This, however, is:

You're thoughts?

Also, been wondering what color to do my scrap/sew/write/knit/office room in. I want something inspiring . . . probably something purple. I cannot help but love things in purple. 

Settling down . . .

   Our hallway is littered with empty boxes. You have to nearly brush the wall with your shoulder to get by on your way to our bedroom. Right now, in the living room, three feet before me and between myself and the television sits four packed boxes and another three, also waiting to be filled. I've already taken three massive bags of clothing to Goodwill, though I suspect there will be another trip or two or four before this venture is complete.

   Mike dropped off an early lease termination letter and a money order to the office today. We have till June 30th to pack, clean and vacate our first apartment as a married couple. The apartment I unpacked my wedding china in, filled my drinkware into, got my first dining room table for. 

   We are moving into a house. A home. With a backyard and a door bell and air conditioning. Two car garage! Ice maker! No neighbors living above me, below me or hogging all the open parking in front of us! The excitement is bubbling, but the dread of moving, YET AGAIN, is quelling that excitement at the moment. It is, to say the least, overwhelming.

   I have never made it a secret that I am third generation packrat. A horrible, stifling habit that I am really wanting to break, if possible. I managed to only get my bedroom closet cleaned out and packed yesterday, but that would be because I also was going through everything, creating two piles. One to keep and one to donate. My policy has been to have split second decisions on everything. Keep or get rid of. If I have hesitated, clearly that is nod in the "get rid of" pile. I am hoping that it all goes smoothly in the downsizing of the posessions as we upgrade our living space.

   Ideally, we'd be able to paint and ease on into the new house, come back to the apartment and clean it before the end of the month. This of course, would be in a perfect world, when I don't have to work. So instead, I'll be making the most of my time off of work (you know, in the mornings, evenings and days off) to accomplish as much as I can. The painting will have to wait until after we are moved in.

    But here we are. About to take this step. I knew this year would be magical.

So here is the front, obviously. Not sure how long we'll keep that house color. We are having the siding redone on the sides and back of the house and it may be enough to warrant a complete color change. If not, I'll at least paint the front door.

The living room, entry and a peek into the mud room. The mud room leads into the garage.

The kitchen . . . ahh the kitchen. Bright, open and with an island. I'm thinking red for the walls, as long as it doesn't make the formica look too pink. Yes, formica. Yuck. But that can be changed. The fridge, gas range, dishwasher and stools all come with the house.  

One of the bedrooms . . . most likely to become the guest room/office/my craft room. 

The other bedroom, which will probably become Mike's "Mancave". Sigh. Yes. I married a dork. 

Our bedroom, which is about the size of my dormroom in college. And while two people will again be sharing the space, it is in somewhat different circumstances. Now, we'll be able to have our dressers in the same room with us. Also . . . there's a walk in closet. Walk. Inside. Closet.

Our sweet little backyard. I'll hope to extend the patio by next summer, since we really hope to have plenty of bbqs and get togethers for all our friends. 

I cannot wait. 

Week 2 (That week that would not end)

I am thrilled to announce that I was able to step up my game for Week 2, losing 4.8 lbs this week. But it definitely was not without sacrifice. A seven day in a row work week left me stressed and stress at work led to much more purposeful workouts at the gym. Remember, I am doing the 100 day workout challenge and am now 22 days down. It takes 21 days to form a habit, so I would say that habit is good and formed by now.

So a total of 8.4 lbs down. Only two more lbs until I am in my Lifetime WW range, which means once I am in that range, I no longer have to pay (yay! yay! yay!). So my goal for next week is another week of loss somewhere between W1 and W2 to secure that I am free from here on out.

How are you doing, my fellow dieters??

Working hard to get my fill

If you had told me a month ago what a rollercoaster May was going to be, I wouldn't have believed you. The ups, the downs, the foreshadowing and the full out surprises that have occured. It will be a month to remember, for sure. 

Big changes have started to roller in a forward motion, both in my personal and professional life. All are scary and exciting at the same time. I have an idea of what the end of June will look like, but who knows. I never would have pictured May shaping up as it has.

Things I have learned in May: 

-the importance of balance.

-people can take steps in the right direction, but are just as capable of backtracking too.

-going for what you want is what is most important. Opinions be damned.

-there is no such thing as bad publicity.

-my wishes are magical.

-All you need in life are some great friends and supportive family. Great family and supportive friends are awesome too.

-People will surprise you. Both in positive and negative ways.

-Playing neutral occasionally really is the way to go.

-Never announce you have a secret if you are woman. Everyone assumes you are pregnant. Even when you aren't.

-I have the greatest parents EVER. Hands down. 

Now I just need to get over this cold and stop sounding like a 60 year old chain smoker. 

Week by Week

When you start WW for the first time, or start back after a period of time of being entirely off the diet, you tend to have a couple of really good weeks of loss. Say the first week you come and sign up is "Week 0". You weigh in for your starting weight and go from there. Last week was my "Week 0". Today was my weigh in for "Week 1".

The first time I did WW in 2005, my W1 weigh in was -4 pounds. I lost 4 pounds in that first week, without exercise or even a scale in my apartment to keep me on task. My W2 weigh in in 2005 was -5 pounds. I lost 9 lbs in two weeks. Healthily. Smartly. Easily. I have restarted WW probably two or three times since 2005 and have NEVER had that impressive of a W1 and W2 loss.

Tonight, I thought I might be down 2 lbs, just because I have been working out daily. In conjunction with WW, I am still doing the 100 days of workouts and I know that has to be turning some of my flab a bit more muscular, right? So though I knew my 2 lbs would not be as inspiring and impressive as 4 or 5 or 6 lbs was in 2005, it was a step in the right direction. As long as every step I take is in that direction, I can live with the results.

So weighing in 3.6 lbs lighter tonight was a delightful surprise. Mom's loss was bigger and when asked during the meeting what she did right this week, she responded "Everything." I love how confident she is. But truly, she did do everything right. Worked out, tracked every bite she took all week and drank all her water. When we met for soup and salad at Applebee's yesterday, she opted for soda instead of water (even though WW now considers soda as hydrating as water). She was better than I was. So I need to step it up for a more lucrative W2 weigh in.

Fifteen days done in the 100 day challenge. It feels good to finish the workout. It feels good to push myself a little further, a little harder, a little longer. It feels good to put a foil star on the calendar for the day once I have finished it.

I like feeling good.